When changing the chief accountant in an organization, what should be done? Change of the chief accountant. Acceptance of documentation Notification to the IFNS when changing the chief accountant

Any accountant in a new workplace always starts by accepting cases from the accountant who previously conducted them. But this must be done correctly, so that later it does not become clear that the previous accountant was, so to speak, unscrupulous.

How to do it correctly is not described in the legislation. Therefore, it all comes down to how experienced the accountant is and the degree of risk of being in a difficult situation depends on it. In accordance with this, each accountant has his own requirements for the leaving colleague, and some adhere to the position that “nothing should be accepted”. So who is right in the end? Let's try to figure it out and draw the necessary conclusions, since the question is not simple and important for every manager and accountant.

In order to understand this issue, we will analyze the recommendations of different specialists: requirements from the auditors (auditors, tax inspectors) and the accountants themselves.

In theory, auditors are advised to check the accounting documents first. The first thing to pay attention to is the availability of these documents for the last five years. This is exactly how much the primary should be kept in the company or in the archive (Art. 17 of the Law of November 21, 1996 "On accounting").

When accepting documents, pay special attention to:

bank and cash documents;
payroll and payroll;
logs of registration of powers of attorney, securities;
journal of accounting of invoices;
books of purchases and sales, etc.

If we talk about tax reporting, then it will be enough only for the last three years. This is exactly the period for which the tax authority may require reporting (according to Article 87 of the Tax Code Russian Federation).

It is also necessary to check the presence of all declarations and calculations and the presence of tax inspection stamps on them or a mail notification of dispatch with a list of all investments.

It would seem that all the recommendations are reasonable and feasible, but in practice it turns out that it is impossible to fulfill all the recommendations in a couple of days. Yes, besides that, how do you know what exactly is missing? In order to check everything "from and to", you will have to check each paper with the journal of reporting and accounting of business transactions, and if you also pay attention to the execution of all documents, then this process will be endless.

The same story is with the reporting of the company. If it turns out that any declaration is not available, then in any case, it will be up to you to draw up it, since you took office. And the predecessor will not be able to sign the documents, since it was you who took office. So it turns out a vicious circle, from which you will have to get out. And imagine a situation when the company did not keep books of purchases and sales, power of attorney journals, then they simply cannot be done in a few days. And in general, in principle, it is difficult to get to work a person who has firmly decided to leave the company.

Besides. The chief accountant can also be a financially responsible person, then it will be in your interests to make an inventory of the material values entrusted to him. For example, in small firms, the chief accountant quite often performs the functions and duties of a cashier. Here you will need to remove the remainder of the cash register, check it against the cash book and the book of the cashier-operator.

So, there are no complaints about the recommendations themselves, but with regard to the methods of implementation, everything is already much more complicated here and these recommendations in this vein do not stand up to criticism. For example, how can you demand that all documents be posted if the accounting department receives them only after weeks, or even months. If you demand to "close" the interim period, then this will not be of any use to you at all.

Audit will be the most convenient and optimal. Only an audit can help accelerate the pace and improve the quality of verification. In addition, the new accountant will not have to independently perform thankless work, which, among other things, will not be paid, and if we also take into account that all the work will be carried out outside of working hours and on a voluntary basis. And now try again to ask yourself how much you need it.

An accounting audit is ideal, but unfortunately, it is quite difficult to perform. Agree that not every director is ready to pay for an audit, and especially if this is already the second or third accountant in the last year.

After the transfer of cases, the auditors are advised to draw up an act. It should list the folders with documents and valuables received from the predecessor, give the balances of all accounts with a decryption, and in general everything that you deem necessary. Attach to the act the balance sheet and other papers drawn up at the time of the transfer of power. All this must be signed by both chief accountants - outgoing and incoming, as well as a specially created commission.

Describing folders with documents and listing account balances is a pointless exercise. This inventory will not help the new chief accountant. Indeed, as the missing documents arrive, account balances and turnover will constantly change. As for the folders, it is not the list and the number that are important, but the documents they contain. Therefore, if we are to describe, it is the documents. However, it will take too long, and you will not have time to learn something really useful from your predecessor.

As you can see, these tips are divorced from life. The fact is that their only goal is to relieve the new chief accountant of responsibility for possible omissions of his predecessor. At the same time, the authors of the recommendations have probably forgotten what the chief accountant is really responsible for. And he is immediately responsible "for himself and for that guy" - for accounting and tax accounting.

Please note that the chief accountant may be punished for "gross violation of the rules of conduct accounting and presentation of financial statements, as well as the procedure and terms of storage of accounting documents ”(Article 15.11 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation). At the same time, distortion of any article (line) of accounting forms or the amounts of accrued taxes by at least 10 percent is considered a gross violation.

Let's give an example. The enterprise took into account the cost of communications as a low value, while they are part of buildings to which they are connected. That is, the accountant violated the requirements of PBU 6/01. In accordance with it, communications had to be attributed to account 01 "Fixed assets". As a result of the error, the tax base for income and property taxes was underestimated. For this, the company was punished under Article 120 of the Tax Code (resolution of the FAS Northwestern District dated March 17, 2003 in case No. A56-22146 / 01).

The chief accountant is threatened with a fine of 2,000 to 5,000 rubles for such a violation. The question is, which one - old or new?

Unfortunately new. After all, all financial statements are compiled on an accrual basis from the beginning of the year. So the successor will have to answer for the entire current year, even if he came to the firm in December. And this is despite the fact that the previous balances were made by the former chief accountant, who is responsible for the entire last year.

Now about tax evasion and non-submission of tax returns. Responsibility for this can be not only administrative, but also criminal (the magazine wrote about this in No. 9, 2005). Here the new chief accountant is responsible for the tax period for which he reported. And this period, as you know, different taxes have their own. For VAT only, it is equal to a month or a quarter. For most other taxes - UST, taxes on profits, property and income of individuals - the tax period is one year.

Feasibility of accepting cases from the previous chief accountant

It is necessary to quickly join the accounting process and understand the urgent needs of the accounting department and the company as a whole. After all, each specialist has his own methods of work, problems with partners known only to him, etc. In addition, any industry has its specifics, and in accounting there is a division of labor. But it's better to take things informally.

First, just find out where and in what order the accounting and tax documents are stored. Then ask if the firm has an accounting policy and familiarize yourself with it. This is very important, since you must apply exactly the accounting methods that are stated in accounting policy... We advise you to selectively check how your predecessor followed this document in practice, as sometimes it gets to the point of absurdity.

Here is what Nadezhda Svikova, chief accountant of one of the Saratov firms, told us: “At one enterprise I was very surprised by the complete absence of customer debt. It turned out that, according to the accounting policy, income tax is calculated here on a cash basis. Hence, my predecessor made a strange conclusion: in accounting, he began to reflect the revenue only when it was received. At the same time, the accountant carried out all other documents on the day they were drawn up. In short, he confused accounting with tax accounting. I had to work hard to rectify the situation. "

After that, sort out the contracts. First of all, check with your colleague if there were any contracts with special transfer of ownership and other “non-traditional” terms. If there were, check the correctness of their reflection in the accounting. In such cases, the probability of errors is especially high, since not all accountants read the contracts and not everyone knows about the existence of account 45 "Goods shipped". Under insurance and lease contracts, the entire amount of the advance payment is immediately attributed to some expenses, bypassing account 97 "Deferred expenses".

We also advise you to print the turnover balance for any date and view the subaccounts. Sometimes you can see a lot of interesting things here. Here is a real example from accounting practice, told by Natalia Rybakova from the Moscow region:

“When I came to work for a foreign company, I found four levels of subaccounts on account 08“ Investments in non-current assets ”:

Level 1 - types of non-current assets (in accordance with the chart of accounts);

Level 2 - objects of non-current assets (for example, "Factory");

Level 3 - numbers of cargo customs declarations for which equipment parts were received;

Level 4 - the name of components for production lines and individual objects of future fixed assets.

To build such an account structure, the former chief accountant violated the standard configuration of the 1C program. As a result, it became impossible to put any fixed asset on the balance sheet. I had to restore the standard configuration of the program and re-distribute many hundreds of transactions to sites in two years. "

It is also necessary to talk with the predecessor about the methods of tax accounting, look at its registers and calculations. If your colleague did not bother himself with this, you will have to do everything from the beginning of the year.

Thus, in two or three days of the change of power, you will learn the main thing. You can get acquainted with the details gradually in the course of further work. By the way, all of the above is recommended to be done even if you did not manage to get to know the predecessor. And explanations can be obtained from the deputy chief accountant, director and specialists of the company.

Transfer formalities.

But even with an informal approach to changing the chief accountant, one cannot do without paperwork.

First, the firm must issue an order for the hiring of a new employee. Two situations are possible: either the new chief accountant has come to the vacant position, or his predecessor has not yet quit. In the first case, the wording of the order is usual. In the second, the new chief accountant cannot be immediately approved for this position. Therefore, at the time of the transfer of affairs, arrange him as a deputy. You can do otherwise - formally dismiss the departing chief accountant a little earlier, paying him these days of work. For example, to issue material aid.
Secondly, the new chief accountant must accept from a colleague (in his absence - from the director) the seal of the company, keys to the safe and accounting department, electronic keys from the Bank-Client program, securities, forms of strict reporting, etc. .d.
Thirdly, he needs to issue bank cards with signatures.
Fourthly, the tax office should be notified about the change of the chief accountant. Although the law does not provide for such an obligation, it is better to do so. Make up the notification in any form, giving the passport details and TIN of the new leader.

Finally, ask the tax office for a statement of reconciliation with the budget. He will be the starting point of your activity.

Hello! In this article, we will talk about changing the chief accountant in an organization.

Today you will learn:

How to prepare for the change of the chief accountant;
How to organize the transfer of responsibility;
Who needs to be notified of the changes.

Chief accountant in the organization

The chief accountant can work for an unlimited period or. With him, it is possible to establish full financial liability, in which the employee must fully compensate the damage caused to the company. In other situations, an employee can be liable for damage to the company in the amount of no more than his average salary.

It is possible to present the chief accountant for dismissal on the initiative of the head if:

The employee has divulged what is established by law (such a secret does not include the financial condition of the enterprise, constituent and tax documents);
The accountant caused serious damage to the property of the company;
There was a change in the owner of the enterprise (with payment former employee proper compensation).

Leaving an accountant is very different from firing any other employee. As a person interacting with government bodies and leading a large document flow, an accountant is obliged to transfer all affairs to his successor, manager, or other responsible person before leaving.

The procedure for transferring responsibilities is necessary even if the chief accountant changes when the head is changed, because the chief accountant is "tied" to the enterprise and its accounting department, and not to the director.

If an employee, there are still two weeks before the termination of the employment contract. Another term of special "working off" for the chief accountant is not provided for by law. During this time, the head will not only have to find a replacement for the chief accountant, but also issue an order, check all papers, as well as an inventory.

Transfer of cases of the chief accountant

Legislatively, the procedure for transferring cases upon dismissal of the chief accountant is not fixed in any way, and each enterprise develops its own sequence.

But more often than not, it does not differ much from the standard scheme:

Stage 1. The leader issues an order containing:

the reason for the change of the chief accountant;
a list of the powers of the position transferred to a new employee;
responsible persons and other (even third-party) participants in the procedure;
the time frame in which all powers should be transferred;
deadline for closing accounting processes (according to tax reporting deadlines).

Stage 2. The accountant completes the current accounting processes:

makes the required accounting entries;
submits to tax reporting;
prepares primary documents;
all papers are hemmed.

The time allotted for all accounting processes is recorded in the order of the director. But in any case, the process cannot take longer than two weeks.

Stage 3. An inventory of financial resources is carried out.

This is a mandatory practice upon dismissal, even if an agreement on such liability has not been concluded with them. The basis for verification is Article 12 of the Accounting Law.

In a large organization, it is difficult to check all the property, so you can conduct a selective inventory tion:

income and expenses of the firm;
investments;
debit and accounts payable.

The document with the results of the inventory is signed in triplicate. One remains in the accounting department, the rest are filed to copies of the acceptance certificate of the old and new employees.

Stage 4. The state of accounting is checked: constituent documents, acts of inspections, and so on.

You can fully check the status of accounting with the help of audit companies.

Document verification when changing the chief accountant can be carried out by the head, the accountant himself, third-party auditors or a new accountant. It is especially difficult for the latter not to get confused.

He needs to know what exactly needs to be checked:

constituent documents;
accounting policy of the company, document flow;
registration of primary documents;
reporting - content, design, signatures, admission marks;
settlement documents, bank statements;
the results of the inventory;
inspection reports for 3 years;
data on shortages.

Stage 5. In a free form, an act of acceptance and transfer is formed, reflecting the state of affairs in the organization on the date of transfer of authority.

Download a sample of the act of acceptance and transfer of cases

It is signed by a former accountant and the person who accepts his authority.

After all parties have signed the transfer deed, the old employee says goodbye to his job, and the new one officially goes to work.

The standard act contains the following points:

details of the participants in the process;
terms;
number of the order on the transfer of authority to the employee;
full list of moving documents;
accounting characteristics;
details of reporting forms;
description of financial accounting (cash desks, checkbooks, bank accounts);
accounting system for settlement transactions (bank statements);
number of the last power of attorney for receiving material assets;
the procedure for settlements with employees.

The minimum version of the transfer act contains only a list of the responsibilities of the accountant, but it is better to play it safe and include there as well Additional information, account balances. Not everything can be learned by ear, so the act must contain all the information necessary to maintain a balance.

After the transfer of documents, the new chief accountant officially fully assumes office and takes responsibility. But situations are possible when two accountants continue to work in the organization for some time. In this case, the delimitation of their duties and the terms of joint work are indicated in the order of the head.

Liability of a former accountant

It must be remembered that if the new accountant during the work reveals the mistakes of his predecessor, he does not bear any responsibility for them.

The former accountant bears administrative and even criminal responsibility for his mistakes even after dismissal. It is possible to bring to responsibility for financial and tax violations within a year, for others - within two months.

Administrative violations discovered after the expiration of the statute of limitations will remain unpunished for the accountant.

Most often, accountants are faced with responsibility for:

According to articles of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation number 238 and 241: If, after the employee's dismissal, it turns out that they have suffered material damage to the company, it is worthwhile to first find out whether his material liability was fixed by the contract.

If there was an agreement on full liability, the guilty party will have to pay the full compensation;
An employee who is not financially responsible will compensate for damage no more than his average wages.

Whom to notify when changing the chief accountant

The legislation of the Russian Federation does not oblige to inform the tax service or other state bodies about the change of the chief accountant in the organization. A special notice to the tax office is submitted only when the director changes.

But if, when submitting the reports, the chief accountant signed it with his electronic digital signature, then it is necessary to inform the Inspectorate of the Federal Tax Service about the change of the responsible person and provide a power of attorney for the new employee, if necessary. Moreover, many departments of tax services insist on notifying them in such situations.

In the event that transactions on the current account were carried out using two signatures: the Director and the Chief Accountant, then be sure to inform the bank about the change of the chief accountant. The consequence of non-fulfillment is unpleasant - all monetary operations of the company will be suspended.

The package of attached documents must be clarified with the bank.

It may differ, but it is always based on:

copies of the company's internal documents confirming the change of employee;
a bank card with a sample signature of a new employee who gets access to banking operations on behalf of the company;
photocopy of the new accountant's passport;
transmittal letter.

All copies of documents are certified by the director of the enterprise: full name, signature and mark “copy is correct”.

Inspectors are asked to promptly notify the IFTS if the company had the dismissal of the chief accountant. How to draw up a notification from which the tax authorities will find out: there has been a change of the chief accountant?

Neither the Tax Code nor the legislation on the registration of companies require the information on the change of the chief accountant to be reported to the inspectorate. Formally, such information must be provided only if the general director is changing in the company.

However, information about the chief accountant is in the company's registration file, so many local inspectors ask to send them in a timely manner. At the same time, even if there is such information in the company's case, the chief accountant when submitting reports, submitting or receiving any documents in the inspection, it is advisable to have a power of attorney with you (clause 3 of article 26 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

There are no specific deadlines for filing a notification if there was a change of the chief accountant. Therefore, the company in which the chief accountant was dismissed can send him at any convenient time. Do not delay - for your own peace of mind.

How to draw up a notification if there was a change of the chief accountant

The notification about the change of the chief accountant is made in any form. As a basis, you can take general recommendations for the preparation of any documents for the tax office, which are drawn up in free form.

Inspectors, as a rule, ask to attach to the notification a copy of the order on the appointment of the chief accountant or an extract from it, as well as indicate the passport details of the new chief accountant. They may ask for another copy of the certificate of TIN assignment to him (if, of course, there is one). It is also advisable to indicate the contact numbers of the new chief accountant in the notification.

How to properly formalize this procedure? What should you pay attention to the old and new chief accountant in order to protect yourself in the future from claims from the organization's management and regulatory authorities? The answers to these questions are given in the article.

To whom can the business be transferred

In practice, there are several options for accepting and transferring cases by the chief accountant.

The most common option is when the former chief accountant hands over the cases to the new chief accountant. However, quite often a situation arises when the new chief accountant is not yet known, and the former chief accountant legally has the right to leave the old place of work. In this situation, if several accountants work in the organization, then one of them (for example, the deputy chief accountant) may temporarily take over the cases.

A more difficult situation is when the chief accountant of a small enterprise, representing the accounting department in the singular, is dismissed. In this case, the head of the organization must accept the case, since he, in accordance with paragraph 1 of Art. 6 of the Law "On Accounting" is responsible for the organization of accounting in the organization.

If the head of the organization refuses to accept the case, it is advisable for the former chief accountant to document this refusal. If the manager does not want to record his refusal to accept cases, in our opinion, it is necessary to proceed as follows: draw up an inventory of cases subject to delivery, in duplicate; keep one copy, and transfer the other to the tax office, to which the organization is accountable, personally against a receipt to the tax inspector or by registered mail by mail.

There may be situations when the former chief accountant for some reason (sudden illness, death, etc.) is not able to hand over cases. In this case, by order of the head of the organization, another person can take over the cases (the new chief accountant, temporarily acting chief accountant, the head of the organization himself).

How to arrange acceptance and transfer of cases

Currently, there is no normative document that would regulate the process of accepting and transferring cases from one chief accountant to another.

In the Regulations on chief accountants, approved by the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of 01.24.1980 N 59, it was noted that the acceptance and delivery of cases upon the appointment and dismissal of the chief accountant are drawn up by an act after checking the state of the accounting and reporting of the enterprise. Although this document is no longer valid, in our opinion, it can be used when deciding on the procedure for accepting and transferring cases when the former is dismissed and a new chief accountant is appointed.

Some ministries and departments regulated this procedure to a certain extent for subordinate organizations. For example, the Letter of the State Customs Committee of the Russian Federation dated 02.21.1992 N 11-13 / 575 "On the procedure for accepting and submitting cases when changing the head or chief accountant - the head of the accounting and control department of a customs institution of the Russian Federation" (hereinafter - the Letter of the State Customs Committee) and Instruction on the procedure for acceptance and delivery of cases by chief accountants (senior accountants on the rights of chief accountants) of centralized accounting departments of institutions, enterprises and organizations of the system of the USSR Ministry of Health, approved by the USSR Ministry of Health of 05/28/1979 N 25-12 / 38.

Each organization, based on the requirements of the Law "On Accounting", has the right to establish for itself the appropriate rules for accepting and transferring cases.

The procedure for accepting and transferring cases can be divided into the following stages:

issuance of an order on the acceptance and transfer of cases;

inventory of property and liabilities;

inventory of settlement transactions;

checking the status of accounting and reporting;

the actual acceptance and transfer of cases (primary documents, accounting and tax registers, accounting and tax reporting, etc.);

drawing up an act of acceptance and transfer of cases.

You have decided to change your job and become a chief accountant in another organization. Having successfully passed the selection of candidates for this position, you formalize labor relations with the employer. What are the features of registration of labor relations for the chief accountant?

Registration of labor relations

Hiring is formalized by signing an employment contract. With the chief accountant, all organizations have the right to conclude a fixed-term employment contract for up to five years (Article 59 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, hereinafter referred to as the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). A fixed-term employment contract can be concluded at the initiative of the employer or employee. In practice, there are employers who want to hire a chief accountant for just a year, and after submitting the annual balance sheet, they decide whether to renew their contract or not. But the chief accountants themselves may, for some reason, want to conclude a fixed-term employment contract, for example, in order to change its conditions in terms of wages upon renewal.

The employer can set a probationary period for the chief accountant in order to make sure of his working qualities. The trial period can be up to six months. It should be remembered that periods of illness or absence from work for other reasons are not included in the trial period (Article 70 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

If an employee does not pass the test, then he has the right to be fired without paying severance pay, without the consent of the trade union (if he is at the enterprise). However, the employee must be notified of this in writing no later than three days in advance.

During the probationary period, the employee himself can resign at any time, having warned the administration of the enterprise about this also three days in advance.

The labor contract of the chief accountant may provide for material liability in full amount of damage caused to the employer in accordance with Art. 243 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. As a rule, the amount of the penalty should not exceed the average monthly salary.

The chief accountant can be dismissed if, due to his decision, damage to the property of the enterprise was caused or he divulged a commercial secret. The list of information that cannot constitute a commercial secret is approved by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 5, 1991 N 35. In accordance with this list, the information contained in the constituent documents, documents on the company's solvency, for example, in the balance sheet and report, is not a commercial secret. on profit and loss, as well as in tax reporting.

The chief accountant can be fired if the owner of the enterprise's property has changed. The new administration can do this within three months from the date of the transfer of the enterprise to the new owner. At the same time, the new owner is obliged to pay compensation to the chief accountant in the amount of at least three average monthly earnings.

When drawing up a contract, if possible, ask the reason why the former colleague leaves. It may turn out that the employer adheres to the tactics of hiring a chief accountant with a trial period of six months and the promise of the prospect of a salary increase upon its completion. During this period, 2 balances are handed over, newcomers make efforts and efforts, understanding the specifics of the organization's activities and even the mistakes of the previous accountant, and then they are simply fired, saving on future salaries. Do not forget that according to the code, the employer is obliged to provide a notice of dismissal in writing, detailing what exactly did not suit him in the candidate.

So, the contract has been drawn up and its main provisions have been agreed upon. It's time to take things.

Note that nowhere in the legislation is the procedure for transferring cases from one chief accountant to another fixed. Some departments previously regulated this procedure. Suffice it to mention the letter of the State Customs Committee of the Russian Federation of February 21, 1992 N 11-13 / 575 "On the procedure for accepting and submitting cases when changing the head or chief accountant-head of the accounting and control department of a customs institution of the Russian Federation", and "Instruction on the procedure acceptance and delivery of cases by chief accountants (senior accountants on the rights of chief accountants), centralized accounting offices (accounting departments), institutions, enterprises and organizations of the system of the USSR Ministry of Health ", approved by the USSR Ministry of Health on May 28, 1979 N 25-12 / 38.

They can be taken for information, but it is impossible to rely on them in our present life entirely.

Order on the appointment of the chief accountant

When taking office, it is important to find out: is there a person from whom you should take cases, and how is this person set up to transfer cases to a new chief accountant? It is no secret that the transfer of cases depends on the relationship between the outgoing accountant and the employer, as well as on the decency of the outgoing one. The predecessor can simply slam the door and leave without explaining anything, or will be on the newcomer to compensate for his grievances against the previous leadership.

Often, there is simply no one to take business from, because the former chief accountant has already been fired. In this case, it may turn out that the cases have been transferred to the head of the organization or the deputy chief accountant. Everyone must decide for himself whether he should show excessive initiative and sign an independently drawn up acceptance certificate, or not. After all, there is no transfer of affairs in the absence of the previous employee.

If you are lucky and your predecessor is working, the manager is obliged to issue an order (order) on the appointment of a new chief accountant of the organization. At the same time, two chief accountants actually work for a short period of time. Therefore, in practice, a newcomer is hired in another position, and subsequently appointed as chief, or, on the contrary, they are looking for an opportunity to pay for the work of the former chief accountant without losing wages.

It is better to stipulate in the order:

surname, first name and patronymic of the person taking over the duties of the chief accountant;
information about the nature of the performance of the obligation - temporary or permanent;
the period during which the reception and transfer of cases is organized. The term for dismissing an employee in accordance with the Labor Code of the Russian Federation should not exceed two weeks. Therefore, depending on the date of dismissal of the former employee, the period during which the cases will have to be transferred is determined.
the personal composition of the commission for the acceptance and transfer of cases (if it is organized). The order may also be accompanied by the regulations (schedule) of the commission's work.
the need to involve third parties (representatives of an audit company, a parent organization, etc.).

Engaging an audit organization is the best and most painless option for changing the chief accountant. The auditing firm will submit a report on the state of accounting and reporting in the organization, on the basis of which an acceptance certificate will be drawn up for the transfer of cases by the accountant.

The order stipulates the period in which each of their chief accountants will conduct current affairs and manage the work of the accounting department, sign all settlement documents (invoices, invoices, cash orders, checks, payment orders and other primary documents), and also establish the procedure for changing the bank cards of the organization ...

The change of signatures can, for example, occur after the end of the audit of the cash desk or the signing of the act of acceptance of the transfer of cases.

Considering that the chief accountant as an official is a member of a number of commissions (write-off of fixed assets, inventory, etc.), one must not forget to indicate the changes in their composition.

What is the chief accountant responsible for

The new incoming chief accountant is interested in strictly delineating responsibility for his actions and those of his predecessor.

The head of the organization is responsible for organizing accounting in the organization, compliance with the legislation when performing business operations. He is also responsible for organizing the storage of primary accounting documents, accounting registers and financial statements. This is established by the Federal Law of November 21, 1996 N 129-FZ "On accounting and the Regulation on accounting and financial reporting in the Russian Federation.

Let's list the main points of responsibility of the chief accountant. After analyzing them, everyone must decide for himself: in what order he will take things and what he will pay Special attention.

Responsibility can arise within the framework of labor legislation, which we have already mentioned, within the framework of the Tax Code, the Criminal Code and the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation).

According to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Art. 199), an accountant is punished in case of tax evasion "by including deliberately distorted data on income or expenses in the accounting documents or otherwise" in large size(amount over 100,000 rubles). In this case, the chief accountant may be deprived of the right to hold such a position for up to five years, or arrested for a period of four months to six years. It is also punishable to inflict damage by deception (Art. 165), abuse of authority (Art. 201), negligence (Art. 293) and forgery (Art. 327).

But the new chief accountant is not threatened yet.

In accordance with a number of articles of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, the chief accountant can be fined for many violations, including for:

Violation of the procedure for working with cash and the procedure for conducting cash transactions (Article 15.1) from 40 to 50 times the minimum wage (minimum wage),

Violation of the deadlines for filing an application for registration with a tax authority or a state non-budgetary fund from 5 to 10 minimum wages, and conducting activities without registration with these bodies (Article 15.3) from 20 to 30 minimum wages,

Violation of the deadline for submitting information on opening and closing an account with a bank or other credit institution (Article 15.4) from 10 to 20 minimum wages,

Violation of the deadlines for submitting a tax return (Article 15.5) from 3 to 5 minimum wages,

Violation of the procedure for submitting statistical information (Article 13.19) from 30 to 50 minimum wages,

Failure to provide information required for tax control (Article 15.6) from 3 to 5 minimum wages,

Gross violation of the rules of accounting and presentation of financial statements, which means a distortion of the amounts of accrued taxes or any article (line) of the accounting form by at least 10% (Article 15.11) from 20 to 30 minimum wages,

Failure to comply with the established procedure for keeping records, drawing up and submitting reports on foreign exchange transactions, violation of the established storage periods for accounting and reporting documents from 50 to 100 minimum wages (Article 15.25 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation).

Consequently, when accepting cases, special attention should be paid to cash and settlement documents, the availability and deadlines for submitting reports and information to tax and other authorities.

The chief accountant, in particular, bears responsibility in the following cases:

Incorrect accounting, which resulted in errors in accounting and distortions in financial statements;

Acceptance for execution and execution of documents on transactions that contradict the current legislation, violations of rules and regulations governing financial and economic activities;

Untimely and incorrect reconciliation of transactions on current and other bank accounts, settlements with debtors and creditors;

Violations of the procedure for writing off shortages, receivables and payables and other losses from the balance sheets, for untimely collection of cash charges from the guilty persons;

Drawing up inaccurate financial statements, for violating the deadlines for submitting quarterly and annual accounting reports.

In this regard, it is important to check the availability of documents, their execution during the transfer and acceptance of cases. In addition, attention should be paid to reflecting the identified shortages in the accounting, as well as reconciling settlements with suppliers and customers of the organization.

Accounting documents

For what period should you check the availability of documents?

According to article 87 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, tax inspectorates have the right to check the activities of a taxpayer for three calendar years. If during this time the organization has already been checked by the tax inspectorate, the future chief accountant needs to study the inspection report. In this case, the accountant can only check the documentation that was formed in the activity after the inspection report.

If there was no check, then it should be remembered that, according to the Law "On Accounting", primary accounting documents, accounting registers and financial statements must be kept for at least five years (Article 17), and therefore it is for this period that they must be available.

On a certain date agreed upon with the outgoing chief accountant, all accounting processes for the past period must be completed. This means that all accounting records for the past period must be completed, the primary documents that serve as the basis for each completed record must be completed,
formed a turnover balance, forms of accounting and tax reporting.

Books and registration journals are being prepared for transfer: securities, powers of attorney, registration of readings of summarizing cash and control counters of cash registers operating without a cashier-operator, cash book; accounting of invoices received and issued, purchases and sales, registration of bank checkbooks, etc.

Accounting documents must be filed in the case in accordance with the nomenclature of cases developed at the enterprise. The nomenclature of cases is a list of headers (titles) of cases and journals (books) of registration, started at the enterprise, with an indication of their storage time.

Some accountants require all sheets to be numbered and described. But you must admit that in another institution this procedure may take the entire time for transferring cases. In addition, the absence of a document does not save you from liability in the future.

If it turns out that some of the necessary journals (books) are missing, a corresponding entry is made about this in the act of acceptance and transfer, and the journal (book) is started from the date of acceptance of the cases.

Checking the status of accounting and tax accounting and reporting

Checking all accounting and tax accounting for a period of 3 years in a short time is unrealistic. As a rule, the transfer of cases is made on the basis of the last balance sheet submitted by the accounting department.

In practice, transactions are checked selectively or, for example, in a continuous order according to some section for a selected period. You can select the period of the highest turnover on the account with a duration of a month, a quarter and check the reflection in the accounting of transactions in a continuous order.

Compliance with accounting requirements is checked (clause 7 of the Accounting Regulations "Accounting Policy of the Organization" PBU 1/98, approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 09.12.1998 No. 60n). Attention is drawn to the observance of the correct execution of primary documents that serve as the basis for reflecting transactions in accounting registers, the presence of signatures of authorized persons.

If necessary, the right to sign these persons is confirmed by the corresponding constituent documents, powers of attorney or orders.

The data of turnover statements for accounts, order journals, turnover balances, general ledger are reconciled with accounting and tax reporting.

You need to thoroughly check the tax records for all taxes paid. The primary taxes in this case are income tax and VAT.

In the reporting, attention should be paid not only to the correctness of filling out the forms, but also to the mark on the acceptance of the document, for the date of its delivery and the presence of all the necessary signatures.

The violations, errors and inaccuracies revealed during the check are indicated in the act of acceptance and transfer of cases. Usually, accounting certificates are drawn up signed by the outgoing chief accountant or his interim chief accountant. Making corrections to accounting registers can be the responsibility of both the new chief accountant and the previous one.

Inventory

Do I need to conduct an inventory when changing chief accountants?

Recall that the mandatory cases of its implementation are established by clause 2 of the Federal Law of November 21, 1996 N 129-FZ "On accounting". The same provisions are contained in clause 1.5 of the order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated June 13, 1995 N 49 "On approval of methodological instructions for the inventory of property and financial obligations", clause 27 Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation of July 29, 1998 N 34n "On approval of the Regulation on accounting and financial reporting in the Russian Federation "and clause 22 of the Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation of December 28, 2001 N 119n" On the approval of the Methodological instructions for the accounting of inventories ".

Inventory is required:

· When transferring property for rent, redemption, sale, as well as when transforming a state or municipal unitary enterprise;

· Before drawing up annual financial statements;

· When changing financially responsible persons;

· When revealing the facts of theft, abuse or damage to property;

· In case of natural disaster, fire or other emergencies caused by extreme conditions;

· Upon reorganization or liquidation of the organization;

· In other cases stipulated by the legislation of the Russian Federation.

If you accept business in anticipation of the preparation of annual reports, and the date of the mandatory inventory is determined in the accounting policy of the enterprise, and the inventory was not carried out, you have every right to raise the issue of conducting a mandatory inventory of property and obligations when accepting cases.

If the chief accountant is a materially responsible person at the enterprise you take over, and this is possible in accordance with Art. 243 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and must be stipulated in the employment contract, inventory is also required.

When the chief accountant combines the position of a cashier, an inventory of cash is carried out. Based on the results of the check, a separate act of checking the cash desk is drawn up, which is signed by both the handing over and the accepting cases of the accounting department, as well as the cashier and the representative of the administration. This act is an annex to the act of acceptance and delivery of cases.

If financial liability is not provided, and there is little time for the delivery and acceptance of cases, it will not be superfluous to look at the results of the last inventory carried out at the enterprise. In any case, it should be noted in the act of pre-transfer of cases

the date and results of the previous inventory, as well as agree with the head of the inventory at the beginning of your work.

In practice, accountants carry out an inventory of finances (they look at cash balances, on current accounts, accounts receivable and payable), others also require an inventory of fixed assets and inventories. Discrepancies between the actual presence of property and accounting data revealed during the inventory are reflected in the accounting accounts in the manner prescribed by the Regulations on accounting.

Act of acceptance and transfer of cases

As a result of acceptance and transfer of cases, an acceptance certificate is drawn up. The act indicates on what date the transfer of cases was carried out.

The simplest form of the acceptance certificate is an inventory of cases accepted by the chief accountant. However, in our opinion, this is not enough for the further work of the chief accountant. But it is also beneficial for the leaving employee. The beginner simply perceives many things by ear in the process of transferring cases. And when compiling your first balance sheet, you will find yourself in difficulty with a lack of information. Therefore, it is more rational to indicate in the act information on account balances with a breakdown. Then the newcomer can glean all the necessary information from the act and not bother the departed employee or manager.

Everyone knows the form of the act, you can take anyone as a basis. But it can be difficult to compose a substantial part in time trouble and emotions. We will give an approximate list of questions (sections) that the Act of acceptance and delivery of cases may contain. It can be refined, expanded, reduced depending on the specific conditions and scope of the organization's activities.

1. general characteristics accounting and organization of the accounting department

Information about the organization of work in the bookkeeping itself. Staff, staffing levels, staff turnover and its reasons. Distribution of duties between employees, availability of job descriptions. Qualification of employees and work to improve it.

Application of standard and unified forms of primary accounting documentation for accounting and reporting, specialized forms of forms or developed and approved by the organization independently. Provision of blank forms for primary documents and accounting registers, reporting.

Providing a regulatory framework for accounting and tax accounting and reporting (books, programs). Availability of departmental guidelines and instructions.

Security personal computers, office equipment.

General characteristics of accounting. System and form (memorial order, magazine order, computer). The state of the registers of synthetic and analytical accounting, data discrepancies in them.

2. Cash accounting status.

Cashbox. The presence of a cashier and a valid contract for full financial responsibility with him. Conditions for storing and accounting for cash and monetary documents (postage stamps, state duties, promissory notes, paid air tickets, etc.). The state of entries in the cash book, the balance of cash and monetary documents at the cash desk, their compliance with accounting records is recorded by a separate audit act, which is attached to the act of acceptance and transfer of cases.

A list of all accounts of the organization's funds, indicating their numbers and bank branches. The balances of each account according to the bank statements, verified with the accounting data. Availability of notifications from tax authorities about open accounts.

Availability of checkbooks, numbers of unused checks.

3. Accounting status of settlement transactions

The presence of extracts from bank accounts, contracts and other documents of a settlement nature.

Inventory of settlements with counterparties, availability of acts of reconciliation of mutual settlements, as of what date discrepancies were settled. Conducting claims work. The reality of accounts receivable and payable. The presence of overdue and bad accounts receivable, with an indication of the perpetrators.

Availability of acts of reconciliation of settlements with tax authorities, as well as debts to the budget for taxes and fees.

Bank loans, debt status by maturity.

4. Accounting status of depreciable property (fixed assets and intangible assets)

Date of the last inventory of the property, its completeness and quality, reflected in the records. Inventory lists, in what form and with whom they are stored. Availability of acts of commissioning of fixed assets, their disposal and write-off. Inventory cards for fixed assets. Responsible custodians of valuables, is there an order on their appointment.

5. State of material accounting

Availability of acts (collation statements, removal of in-kind balances) of the reconciliation of accounting records with the records of financially responsible persons, the date of the last reconciliation. Date of the last inventory of material assets, its results. Reflection in the accounting of acts of audits and examinations, materials on shortages, thefts, transferred and not transferred to the investigation authorities. The state of analytical accounting of materials, the availability of incoming and outgoing documents for the movement of material values.

6. State of settlements with employees

Information about the staffing table, the presence of labor contracts. Wage arrears. The state of personalized accounting, the availability of tax cards for personal income tax and UST.

7. Reporting

Compliance with the requirement for the preparation of the monthly balance sheet, the established deadlines for the submission of financial statements, tax returns and reports, the reliability of these reports. Decisions of the founders on the approval of reporting, payment of dividends. Availability of tax registers.

8. Storage of documents

Provision of proper storage and accounting of strict reporting forms and an archive of accounting documents. Availability of case inventories, filed and numbered documents. Correctness of execution, seizure or destruction of documents due to the expiration of the maximum storage period.

Certificate of the presence and safety of seals, stamps, etc.

9. List of accounting and primary documents according to the inventory

The list of transferred estimates, title lists, staffing tables, contracts, agreements, obligations, folders of primary documents and registers, etc.

The absence of primary accounting registers or documents is noted.

10. Balances on verified accounts.

The balances of verified accounts and their decryption are confirmed. It is advisable to confirm balances on cash settlement accounts (cash desk, bank, settlements with suppliers and buyers, employees), as well as other property accounts.

11. Signatures

Chief accountants, submitting and receiving cases, members of the commission or a representative of the administration.

In case of disagreement of the handing over with any provisions of the act, the outgoing accountant has the right to make appropriate motivated reservations when signing the act.

The acceptance certificate is drawn up in two copies, of which: the first is submitted for approval to the head of the institution, the second remains with the transferring case. If the case is transferred by a branch or representative office of an organization, the act is drawn up in triplicate, one of which is submitted to the parent organization.

The tax authorities must be notified of the change of the chief accountant. Usually they demand to submit Form No. P14001, the order of appointment, the details of his passport (photocopy).

Regular partners and divisions are notified depending on the style of work of the new company.